Seal-lock



(No Model.) 7

R? W. GILLESPIH,

SEAL LOOK. I

Patented Aug. 13, 1889,

' T to whom it may concern.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT IV. GILLESPIE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SEAL-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Batent No. 409,034, dated August 13, 1889.

Application filed August 1, 1888. Serial No. 281,619-

Be it known that I, ROBERT WV. GILLEsPIE, of the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Self-Fastening Seal-Locks, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to devices for sealing cars with a frangible seal that cannot be tampered with without breakage; and the inventionconsists in features of novelty hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Figure I is a detail elevation of a car with my seal attached. Fig. II is a front view of the lock and shows its thimble-seal in sec tion, and part of one locking-barb broken away to show its clutch-hold within the locking-chamber of the thimble-seal; and Fig. III is a horizontal section taken on line III III, Fig. II, and shows the barbs of the lockingpin seated within the locking-chamber of the thimble-seal.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar figures of reference indicate like parts in all the views, 1 represents the side of a car to which my lock is attached. 2 is the door, and 3 the door-jamb to which the door is locked.

4 is a hasp, which may be secured by a staple, or by any other suitable means, to the door.

5 is a staple seated in the door-jamb, on which the slot 6 of the hasp engages when it is desired to fasten the door.

7 represents a U-shaped locking pin or key, which is preferably made of steel, and 8 is a ring-head which surmounts one end of said locking-pin, and is formed integral therewith to prevent-its dropping through its seat in the staple.

9 represents the forks of the bifurcated point of the locking-pin, and 10 are pointed barbed heads that surmount the forks.

11 represents a frangible thimbleseal, which is preferablymade of pottery, and may be either glazed or not; but it may be of glass or any other suitable material.

12 is the keyhole for the entrance of the locking-pin within said seal, and 13 is the (No model.)

locking-chamber at the terminal of the opening in the thimble and int-o which the keyhole leads. The said locking-chamber is of larger diameter than the key-hole, and at its junction therewith the enlargement causes a shoulder 14:, which is beveled downward outwardly from the keyhole, so as to form a barbed clutch-hold in which the hook of the barbed heads of the locking-pin are seated when the car is locked.

15 represents a collar around the lockingpin a short distance below its forks, and 16 is an annular recess at the entrance to the keyhole of the thimble-seal, in which said collar is seated when the lock is sealed, the same making an anti-picker device.

It will be seen that by this last provision it would be impossible to pick the lock, for neither a wire or any other picker could be projected through the sharp angled turns bctween said collar and its seat. Neither is there room for the insertion of any kind of picker.

The manner of attachment and operation of the lock is as follows: The car-door being closed, the hasp that is secured to said door is seated on the staple that is secured to the door-jamb, and the bifurcated end of the U- shaped locking-pin is passed through said staple and turned around'until its ring-head is seated on the staple. The barbed points of the bifurcated end of the locking-pin will then point upward, and are inserted in the key-hole of the thimble-seal, and said barbed points are passed up through said key-hole into the locking-chamber that surmounts the key-hole. The spring-forks of the lockingpin are compressed together as they enter the key-hole and spring out again when they enter the locking-chamber, which is of enlarged diameter to that of the key-hole. The projected barbs on the points of the locking-pin then seat themselves and clutch onto the bevel-shoulder around the junction of the key-hole to the locking-chamber. After the seal-lock is thus secured it is impossible for either an unauthorized or authorized party to tamper with it or unlock it without breaking the frangible thimble-seal, which may be made of very cheap construction of pottery or other material. N'early the whole cost of the device, which in itself is small, is in the spring locking-pin, which is virtually indestructible.

As there is no means by which any one can obtain entrance to the car without breaking the frangible thimble-seal, it is evident that if said entrance is eilfected the broken thimble would be a certain tell-tale of said trespass.

The U shape of the locking-pin provides the presentation of the forks of the locking pin upward in avertical or nearly vertical direction, so that the entrance to the key-hole of the tl1i1nbleseal, when seated on said pin, maybe protected from the entrance of water. This is an important feature of the device, for it avoids the freezing up and consequent breakage of the seals, which has been a matter of very frequent occurrence in frosty weather.

In case of the unintentional breakage of the thimble'seal from a collision or other unusual accident, and it is desired to fasten the locking-pin in its seat, (until the next station is reached, where there is a supply of thimbleseals and the lock can again be rescaled) a wire 17 (shown in broken lines in Fig. I) is then passed through the circular hole 18 in the head of the pin back of said pin and through the perforate hole 19 in the stem of said pin, and is then fastened around the sta ple 5 to hold the locking-pin in its position until it is rescaled.

I claim as my invention 1. In ascal-lock, the U-shaped spring locking-pin, the double prong at the locking end of said pin, the barbed points on the ends of said prongs beveled on their under sides and arranged for engagement within the beveled recesses in their seats in the seal, and a frangible seal having a single orilice longitudinally thereof, into which said locking end extends upwardly, so as to enter the seal from beneath, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a seal-lock, a U-shaped spring loek ing-pin, the double prong at the locking end of said pin, the beveled grasping barbed points on the ends of said prongs that fit in the beveled recesses in their seats in the seal, the said locking end extending upwardly to enter the seal from beneath, athimble-shaped frangible seal in which the key operates, having an annular recess at the bottom of said seal,

and the anti-picker collar around the stem of the pin fitting in said recess, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a seal-lock, a U-shaped spring locking-pin having a bifurcated operative end extending upwardly to enter the seal from beneath, barbed points on said bifurcated end, the inverted frangible seal provided with a keyhole running longitudinally with said seal, and locking-chamber, into which said key-hole enters, and the annular beveled shoulder within said seal, into which the barbed points of the locking-pin spring and elfect a lock, and the wire 17, that passes through the perforations in the key and fastens around the staple 5, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

ROBERT \V. GILLES'IIE.

In presence of .BENJN. A. KNIGHT, Enw. KNIGHT. 

